Heartwarming household comes alive in ‘Brighton Beach'

Published: Sunday, April 7, 2013 at 4:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Friday, April 5, 2013 at 12:02 p.m.

Bottom of the seventh, two balls, no strikes — and Hendersonville Little Theater hits a home run!

Jonathan Forrester, second-time director for HLT, does a beautiful rendition of Neil Simon's "Brighton Beach Memoirs" — humorous and heartfelt. The production is like looking through a keyhole into the lives of an extended family in Depression-era Brooklyn, N.Y., circa 1937.

In the Jerome household, money is tight, tensions are high, and hormones are raging. But after all, this is Neil Simon, and family, love and laughter hold them all together.

The Jerome family is packed like sardines into a small home, with aunt Blanche, cousins Nora and Laurie, father Jack, mother Kate and brothers Stanley and Eugene. The cast seamlessly navigates shtick and sentiment in Simon's semi-autobiographical play, making this classic a must-see.

The audience's guide into this family is 15-year-old Eugene Jerome (played by Dion "Bookie" Mills, a junior at North Henderson High school). Eugene dreams of playing for the Yankees, seeing a girl naked (even for just 2½ seconds) and never eating another bite of liver. Mills portrays an energetic boy full of imagination trying to hold onto childhood while being propelled into adolescence. As a budding writer, Eugene's narration pulls back the curtain revealing his family at their wittiest and most vulnerable.

Lyn O'Hare, who portrays Eugene's mother, Kate, captures the worrying, nagging, loving Jewish mother very naturally. She is constantly in motion — cleaning, cooking, and trying to keep the family together.

Kate's widowed sister Blanche, played by Carole Avery, has become so crippled by the idea of making a poor decision that she cannot make a decision at all. Her eruption of self-discovery in Act II is both heartbreaking and relieving. In many ways, the play is as much about Blanche's growing up as it is about Eugene's coming of age.

Jessica Donahue and Skylan Rayne give touching performances as Blanche's daughters Nora and Laurie. Nora, 17, is full of self-righteousness and longing for stardom. But her tender relationship with younger sister Laurie makes you love her.

Daniel Fritog, a junior at East Henderson High School, is an excellent Stanley, Eugene's older brother. At 18, Stanley is caught between independence and the burden of being one of the only breadwinners for the family. Daniel nails awkwardness of a teen who is forced into the responsibilities of an adult.

At the head of the family is patient, overworked Jack, played by Phillip Packer. Packer infuses Jack with the exhaustion of Willy from "Death of a Salesman" and the patience of Atticus Finch from "To Kill a Mockingbird." He does an amazing job playing the father who holds the family together.

Perhaps my favorite part was the way the director kept the household alive throughout the play. The upstairs bedrooms were divided with a screen brightly illuminated for scenes, but dimly transparent the entire time. Characters could be observed brushing their teeth, primping their hair, reading a book and, yes, going to the bathroom. Scenes were like zooming into a certain portion of the house, glimpsing that particular moment in their lives. The effect was to make the house feel real, crowded, overwhelmed and somehow more like a family.

The screen also gave bedroom scenes a more intimate tone, giving me the guilty pleasure of eavesdropping on the children's lives. That's where the Jerome brothers, Eugene and Stanley, sleep, kvetch, fight, joke and occasionally cry. It is where Laurie gently tucks the photo of her dead father into bed, and it is where cousin Nora mortifies Eugene by walking into the bathroom while he is "on the can."

No one makes family harmony and disharmony as funny or as touching as Neil Simon. So don't miss your chance to see this rendition of "Brighton Beach Memoirs" at Hendersonville Little Theater.

<p>Bottom of the seventh, two balls, no strikes — and Hendersonville Little Theater hits a home run! </p><p>Jonathan Forrester, second-time director for HLT, does a beautiful rendition of Neil Simon's "Brighton Beach Memoirs" — humorous and heartfelt. The production is like looking through a keyhole into the lives of an extended family in Depression-era Brooklyn, N.Y., circa 1937.</p><p>In the Jerome household, money is tight, tensions are high, and hormones are raging. But after all, this is Neil Simon, and family, love and laughter hold them all together. </p><p>The Jerome family is packed like sardines into a small home, with aunt Blanche, cousins Nora and Laurie, father Jack, mother Kate and brothers Stanley and Eugene. The cast seamlessly navigates shtick and sentiment in Simon's semi-autobiographical play, making this classic a must-see. </p><p>The audience's guide into this family is 15-year-old Eugene Jerome (played by Dion "Bookie" Mills, a junior at North Henderson High school). Eugene dreams of playing for the Yankees, seeing a girl naked (even for just 2½ seconds) and never eating another bite of liver. Mills portrays an energetic boy full of imagination trying to hold onto childhood while being propelled into adolescence. As a budding writer, Eugene's narration pulls back the curtain revealing his family at their wittiest and most vulnerable. </p><p>Lyn O'Hare, who portrays Eugene's mother, Kate, captures the worrying, nagging, loving Jewish mother very naturally. She is constantly in motion — cleaning, cooking, and trying to keep the family together.</p><p>Kate's widowed sister Blanche, played by Carole Avery, has become so crippled by the idea of making a poor decision that she cannot make a decision at all. Her eruption of self-discovery in Act II is both heartbreaking and relieving. In many ways, the play is as much about Blanche's growing up as it is about Eugene's coming of age. </p><p>Jessica Donahue and Skylan Rayne give touching performances as Blanche's daughters Nora and Laurie. Nora, 17, is full of self-righteousness and longing for stardom. But her tender relationship with younger sister Laurie makes you love her.</p><p>Daniel Fritog, a junior at East Henderson High School, is an excellent Stanley, Eugene's older brother. At 18, Stanley is caught between independence and the burden of being one of the only breadwinners for the family. Daniel nails awkwardness of a teen who is forced into the responsibilities of an adult.</p><p>At the head of the family is patient, overworked Jack, played by Phillip Packer. Packer infuses Jack with the exhaustion of Willy from "Death of a Salesman" and the patience of Atticus Finch from "To Kill a Mockingbird." He does an amazing job playing the father who holds the family together.</p><p>Perhaps my favorite part was the way the director kept the household alive throughout the play. The upstairs bedrooms were divided with a screen brightly illuminated for scenes, but dimly transparent the entire time. Characters could be observed brushing their teeth, primping their hair, reading a book and, yes, going to the bathroom. Scenes were like zooming into a certain portion of the house, glimpsing that particular moment in their lives. The effect was to make the house feel real, crowded, overwhelmed and somehow more like a family.</p><p>The screen also gave bedroom scenes a more intimate tone, giving me the guilty pleasure of eavesdropping on the children's lives. That's where the Jerome brothers, Eugene and Stanley, sleep, kvetch, fight, joke and occasionally cry. It is where Laurie gently tucks the photo of her dead father into bed, and it is where cousin Nora mortifies Eugene by walking into the bathroom while he is "on the can."</p><p>No one makes family harmony and disharmony as funny or as touching as Neil Simon. So don't miss your chance to see this rendition of "Brighton Beach Memoirs" at Hendersonville Little Theater.</p>